Self-described acoustic, Afro-soul artist Rafiya’s debut EP “Amazing” boasts a number of acoustic tracks that leave listeners imagining themselves on a white sandy beach, staring at the serene clear blue water, snapping fingers or bobbing the heads to the live acoustic band playing a little ways down the shore for the enjoyment of random passers-by.
Though the song track “Amazing” is the title track, it is not the strongest of the album. It lays the groundwork for the rest but gives the listener no inkling of what’s really to come. “So Beautiful,” Rafiya’s homage to Music Soulchild’s song of the same name, is just that…so beautiful. Her voice never missteps or falters; it radiates with passion and love. “Mario,” the third track of the album, exemplifies the hybridity of not only Rafiya’s music but herself as well. Two verses of the song are in French, one verse is in English, and the last verse is in both English and French. In every verse, there are also two ending lines sang in Lingala that further ties together all the parts that make this Rafiya who she is.
“Je Me Cherche” is the only track that is completely in French. Even without years of studying the French language, one can feel the sadness of the song through Rafiya’s voice. Translating the words of the song, “who am I/I’m looking for the essence of my being/I don’t know what I want in life/I don’t know what life wants from me…I dive into the darkness,” only reinforces the mood that Rafiya successfully conveys with her strong yet melancholy voice.
The bonus track of “Amazing,” “I Love You,” is the only collaborative song on the album. With the help of French rapper Mokobe, who sounds a lot like Tupac Shakur, and Mozambican singer Marllen, Rafiya creates a mixture of timbres and languages that are aesthetically pleasing to the ear. Mokobe’s rough rhymes combined with Marllen’s trill-like voice and Rafiya’s steady, even tone make this track a definite bonus.
The album “Amazing” is amazing in that it artfully combines cultures, tones, and melodies that speak to a little something in everyone and a lot of something in many. It paints stories of love, forgiveness, heartbreak, sadness, uncertainty, and happiness in a way that Rafiya has aptly described as amazing.